Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is my first snake and I wanted to run my set-up by more experienced people because I think some of the things I bought are wrong for my snake.

He is housed in a 20 long. I bought a wire cage top, combo light(with day, night & fluorescent bulbs), an UTH of 16watts and 20 pounds of sand substrate. The immediate problem I am having is the UTH is way too hot. If I shove the thermometer all the way through the sand so that it's touching the glass, it is a whopping 110 degrees! That is way too hot, isn't it? Their ideal hot spot should be 90 and I am 20 degrees over that. Is this super bad? My correction to this problem will be to buy a rheostat so that I can control the temp. Will this suffice?
My other problem is with the combo light. Sand boas aren't basking snakes and I have read several keeper's Internet pages who all say they don't use any kind of lights at all. I can take back the combo light (I don't like it anyway, it covers almost the entire top of the tank and I have to take the darn hot thing off everytime I want to search out my cutey pet ) and get a different combo light that has only day and night bulbs. I really don't need a fluorescent bulb, do I? Do I even need the day/night ones? I kind of would like to have a general light so that I can see inside the tank to find him in the sand.
I went with the sand because no one sells aspen shavings around here and I am allergic to the dusty carefresh and similar type beddings. My husband has always had to clean my past rodent's cages because the stuff affects my breathing. The sand says it is formulated to reduce impaction and I don't plan on feeding him in the cage anyway.
What should I buy to feed him in? I have spare cardboard shoe boxes or I was thinking of buying him his own rubbermaid type container.
Some people always have water available for their snake, others only offer it every 3 days. Opinions on that? Will R.O. water be detrimental to them since all the minerals have been taken out or should I use my well water from the tap?
Should I have a humidity box available at all times? I have 13 fish tanks running which keeps my upstairs between 50-60% humid. I haven't measured the actual humidity in his tank yet. I can do that tonight and post on here what it was (if I can get the darn thing unstuck off my old frog tank without damaging it ).
Well, I think that's all my current questions. I'm sure I'll have more as I read/learn more and when I go to feed for the first time, etc..
Thanks in advance to anyone who replies!
Nippy

Hey there!
Congrats on your KSB - they are really cute, fun little snakes. In my opinion, the 20 gallon L is too big. If it is a male, a ten gallon will be just fine. I use a container called a "Reptile Ranch" for mine. I like it because it is secure and easy to clean. Also, I would get rid of the sand. Sand can be tricky to clean and it is heavy and messy. I have asthma and allergies, but use CareFresh bedding with no problem. It is light, absorbent, and easy to clean. It also seems to neutralize any odors in the tank. As for the heat pad problem, yeah all you need is some sort of temp. control device and you should be fine. And you don't need any overhead lighting or anything - so you can save money and electricity by taking the combo light back to the store. In terms of water, I leave a small dish available at all times - not too big because I don't want any unnecessary humidity in the tank. That leads me to my final tip - it is not necessary to have a shed box in the tank. If you notice shedding problems, then by all means add one, but unless your place is super dry (which is unlikely with all of those fish tanks, you should be fine.
Good luck and hope this helped you a bit!
SF

I personally think your tank size is fine (I don't recall you saying how old/long he is) - but that's just me. My KSB is in a 10 gallon, but he's always been so active and I think I'd give him a 20l if I had the space.

The lights are fine - I use them too on my Kenyan, but it is more for you than him.

I know some people do use sand, but I use Crushed Walnut shells myself. They're not dusty at all.

You need to get a thermostat to regulate temps. I had the same issue and a rheostat didn't help.

When my Kenyan sheds I give him a humidity hide myself. I only do so because it's easier to pick out the shed in a humidity box than in the substrate. He always uses it and exits the hide as soon as he sheds so I keep doing it.

I have a very small water dish in my KSBs tank. I fill it up maybe once a week. He generally has water all the time, but he also drinks a lot. My other sand boas don't get water as much.

You can feed him outside the tank in a paper sack, deli cup, rubbermaid/sterilite tub, etc. Whatever works. My KSB stopped eating in the deli cups and now I just throw a piece of carpet on top of his substrate on feeding night. He comes out on top and eats.

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